2nd baseman Chase Utley clubbed at 2 out 2 run homer in the 1st inning, catcher Ron Barajas slapped an RBI single in the 4th and Marlins’ starter  Byung-Hyun Kim and reliever Taylor Tankersley combined to walk 4 including a bases loaded walk which forced in a run in the 6th inning while  Freddy Garcia, who had only 2 clean innings out of 6, gave up single runs in the 1st, 3rd and 5th innings, 2 of them on solo homers as the Phillies clung to a slender 4-3 lead over Florida after 8 innings.

All of that, however, was forgotten amidst a crazy, wild 9th inning where the Phils took a 4 run lead only to see it melt away through mental fielding mistakes and a possible right shoulder injury to closer Brett Myers as Florida tied the score in the bottom of the 9th inning.

But despite the travails of the 9th, the Phils showed what it takes to be a contender by coming back on suddenly potent 3rd baseman Abraham Nunez’s 2 out RBI single to beat the Marlins by an 8-7 score.

The Phillies and Marlins played nip and tuck for 5 innings.  Each time the Phils scored, the Marlins would pull even.  After Utley’s homer, shortstop  Hanley Ramirez slugged a one-out solo homer to leftfield in the 1st and followed with a 2 out RBI single in the 3rd inning to tie the game.   Barajas put the Phils in front with a 1 out RBI single in the 4th inning.  2nd baseman Dan Uggla solo homered in the 5th inning to tie it again.

In the 6th, the Phils took the lead again on a bases loaded walk.  The Phils added 3 more runs to the lead which they took into the bottom of the 9th.

Freddy Garcia left after 6 innings with a 4-3 lead having pitched a good ballgame while surrendering the 2 Marlins homers. Geoff Geary and  Antonio Alfonseca each put down the Marlins in their respective 1 inning of work.

In the Phils’ 9th, Utley led off with a triple to center and centerfielder Aaron Rowand drove him in with a double to left.  With one out, Nunez was intentionally walked and Barajas struck out.  Then Wes Helms, pinch hitting for Alfonseca, drove in Rowand with a single to leftfield.  Then Jayson Werth, pinch hitting for leftfielder Michael Bourne, singled to center and the Phils were up 7-3.

But then came the fiasco in the bottom of the 9th.  MLB.com’s Ken Mandel reports on how the bpottom of the 9th went down and how the Phils won in the 10th inning;

Myers was preparing to save a one-run game, Manuel let him pitch in a non-save situation. Todd Linden and Alfredo Amezaga began the inning with a bloop single, and scored on Dan Uggla’s triple. Hanley Ramirez then bunted to first, and  [Greg] Dobbs inexplicably threw home, instead of tagging Ramirez or stepping the base.

Huge mistake number one.

What was he thinking?

“I wasn’t,” he said. “Quote it. Print it right on front page. ‘What was Dobbs thinking?’ I saw it all happen right in front of me in super slow mo. As I released the ball, I went ‘whyyyyyyyyy. What are you doing?’ I should’ve taken the ball and either tagged Ramirez or gone to the bag, instead of being way too aggressive. It was just stupid. Afterward, I was so disgusted with myself that I just started walking in circles, thinking ‘Did I just do that?’”

He did, and Ramirez would later score the tying run, after Myers nearly got the Phillies out of the jam, by striking out  Miguel Cabrera and Jeremy Hermida, sandwiched around  Josh Willingham being hit by a pitch. If Dobbs makes that play, Hermida ends the game.

Instead, Aaron Boone sliced a single to shallow left field. With Ramirez still a few steps from third base, coach Bo Porter waved him around. Jayson Werth’s throw beat Ramirez by 10 feet.

“When I see Werth’s throw coming to the plate, I’m thinking the game is over,” manager Charlie Manuel said.

With the ball and plenty of time, Barajas stood to tag Ramirez, bracing for a confrontation. Ramirez slid into him, getting his right foot to the plate before the tag. Barajas and Manuel fiercely argued, but the call stood, and the game continued.

Huge mistake number two.

“It was a mess,” Barajas said. “I caught the ball down low and wasn’t sure what [Ramirez] was going to do. I didn’t want to get down low and have him get a good shot at me and maybe knock the ball out. I wanted to make sure I was in a strong position.”

Manuel conceded that Barajas should “smother the guy, not even let him get to the plate.”

Two pitches later, Myers uncorked his 27th pitch of the inning, a wild pitch that forced him from the game with what was diagnosed as a right shoulder strain, and an incredible source of worry for the Phillies.

Clay Condrey entered and completed the walk to Miguel Olivo, then was nearly speared on Todd Lindens comebacker, that he somehow snared.

“It was either that or [off my] throat,” Condrey said. “I don’t know what happened after I caught the ball. I don’t know how we scored. I don’t know we got out of the next-half inning. I can’t talk about it, but I’ll dream about it.”

The Phillies did score on a bouncing ball stroked by Abraham Nunez — fittingly past a diving Ramirez — that Condrey made stand.  Jimmy Rollins, who shook off an 8-for-60 skid with a single to start the 10th, scored the winning run.

“That was the craziest game I’ve ever seen,” third-base coach Steve Smith said.

Condrey was credited with his 2nd win of the season, while  

Kevin Gregg, who gave up the winning run in the 10th inning, was charged with the loss.For the scores, boxscores and recaps of this and all of Wednesday’s games, click here.

Wednesday was quite a day for minor league baseball in Pennsylvania. This blog previously reported that 1st baseman Ryan Howard went 2 for 3 hitting a game-winning homer in a Class A rehab start in Lakewood.  Later in the day, Yankees’ newly acquired “Rocket” Roger Clemens made a  preparatory Double-A minor league start for the Yankees’ Trenton club.  Clemens allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings against Boston’s Portland, Maine, affiliate.

The Phillies hope to notch another series win and finally go over .500 with another strong outing from Jon Lieber as he faces Marlins’ ace lefthander  Dontrelle Willis in Thursday’s get-away game.

The Phillies then travel to Atlanta for an early season important 3 game series against the Braves beginning on Friday.

Lefthander Jamie Moyer faces Tim Hudson in Friday’s opener.  Adam Eaton faces an as yet unnaned starter for Atlanta on Saturday.  On Sunday, lefthander Cole Hamels opposes Kyle Davies in the get-away game.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps of this and all of Thursday’s games, click here.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 24th, 2007 at 7:44 am and is filed under Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Phillies and NL East, Analysis, Predictions, etc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.